The HIV and Aids charity dismissed Rosemary Gillespie from the post earlier this month

Jackie Morton

The HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust has appointed one of its trustees as interim chief executive after the dismissal of Rosemary Gillespie earlier this month.

THT said that Jackie Morton, who has been a trustee since December 2014, would step down as a trustee and take up the interim chief executive post from 27 July until a permanent replacement was found.

The move comes two weeks after Gillespie was asked to step down with immediate effect, with the charity stating that its board had decided "a change of leadership is needed for the next stage of the organisation’s development". Gillespie had been in post for 15 months.

Morton had a 40-year career in the NHS until her retirement in 2011. She was also chair of HIV Scotland, a charity that focuses on HIV education, policy and care, until earlier this year.

She remains actively involved in a number of related programmes, including the British HIV Association primary care project.

Last week, Gillespie accused the board of "not having the stomach for the change programme I was brought in to deliver".